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(No Model.)

J. B. LINEBAOK! ADJUSTABLE NECK YOKE.

No. 470,320. Patented Mar. 8, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. LINEBAOK, OF OAKS, INDIAN TERRITORY.

ADJ USTABLE N ECK-YOKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 470,320, dated-March 8, 1892.

Application filed April 13, 1891.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ]3. LINEBACK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oaks, in the Cherokee Nat-ion, Indian Territory, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Neck-Yokes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to neck-yokes.

It has for its object, first, to support the tongue by means of an adjustable strap beneath the yoke, so that the point of support will be under the horses collars instead of from the end of thepole, the pole being free to move in said strap vertically as well as laterally with the strap, so that the jars and jerks will not be transmitted to the horses necks and shoulders.

A second object is to provide for adjusting the yoke nearer to and farther from the whiffletree, so as to keep the yoke beneath the horses collar and permit the horse to be as near the whiffletree as possible. If the connection between the yoke and pole be rigid, orpractically so, whenever the vehicle strikes against an obstruction a sudden jar results, and it is transmitted to the neck of the horse, which is followedwith all the bad effects so well known to all persons having experience with horses. Under the construction embraced within the first object of my invention such difficulties are overcome, since the connection between the yoke and the pole is not only flexible, so as to allow the pole to move sidewise without jar to the horses neck, but also permits a movement of the pole in a vertical direction between the yoke and pole, so that its motion is lost without being transmitted to the neck of the horse. The strap which thus connects the yoke and pole can be taken up or let out so as to lift and also lower the pole within the limit of the adjustment of the strap.

It is Well known that the nearer the horse is to the load the easier he draws it. Now under the usual construction it is customary to adjust the parts for a small horse by length- Serial No. 388,757. (No model.)

cannot be moved back. As a consequence,

the horse is moved farther from the load with the result of making it harder for him to draw it. Under the construction contemplated by the second object of my invention the neckyoke is moved back, so that the horse is kept as close to the load as the whiiiletree will allow and the disadvantages referred to overcome.

To the accomplishment of the objects mentioned the invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter particularly described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention as applied in use. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, showing the yoke in section and the end of the pole broken away. Fig. 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the plates G and H and strap 0 applied to the yoke- In the drawings, the letter A designates a pole provided with the usual metallic tip B and stop-pin C. The yoke is designated by the letter D, and is provided at its ends with the staples E for securing the holdbackstraps F thereto. The yoke is provided on its top with plate G, and on its under side with plate H, the two plates being held to the yoke by bolts I and I. The top plate G forms a loop through which the strap J passes. The outer end of this strap is provided with a ring K, which fits around the metallic end of the pole, and is prevented from moving backward by the stop-pin O. The strap J is provided with a buckle L, so that the strap can be lengthened or shortened, in order that the yoke can be moved forward or backward as a large or a small horse may be hitched. By such means the neckyoke is kept beneath the collar and the horse is kept as close to the load as the whiffletree will permit.

The plate II is formed with loops or depressions M, in which lie the links N, so as to be free to swing back and forth. A strap 0 passes from one link to the other and under the pole A, and it sustains the weight of the pole. It will be observed that while the the pole is supported by the strap it is free to move up and down without moving the yoke, so that no jars will be transmitted to the yoke and through it to the horses neck in such movement of the pole. It will also be observed that the strap being flexible will yield to any side movement of the pole, and thus prevent the movement being transmitted to the horses neck. The strap can be lengthened or shortened by means of its buckle, and in that way the pole can be raised or lowered.

By reason of the construction described the pole is supported by the yoke back from its end, so that there is no binding or strain on the pole, and at the same time the yoke is always beneath the horses collar, no matter What the size of the horse, as the position of the yoke can be changed by simply lengthening or shortening the strap. The horse is also brought as near as possible to the load, and all jarring on the horses neckis effectually prevented.

\Vhile the construction described prevents anyjar being transmitted to the necks of the horses when the wheel strikes an obstruction, yet it does not prevent the movement of the beam sidewise in turning from being imparted to the vehicle which is necessaryin order to turn the vehicle. Furthermore, the neck-yoke is entirely out of the way in watering the team either from a bucket, trough, or stream, and there is no catching of the lines over the end of the neck-yoke. Again, it is not necessary to construct a neck-yoke specially for the application of the improvement thereto, as the attachments can be applied to an old yoke.

I have illustrated and described what I consider to be the best construction in details of the several parts; but I do not mean to confine the scope of the invention to such details.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is In a device of the class specified, the combination of the pole, the neck-yoke, the strap secured to the neck-yoke and forming a loop beneath the same adapted to carry the pole, the diameter of the loop beinglarger than the diameter of the pole to permita free vertical movement of the latter relatively to the neckyoke, and the adjustable strap connecting the neck-yoke with the forward end of the pole, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN B. LINEBACK.

\Vitnesses:

JOHN E. DUNIIAM, llilAHLON BALLARD. 

